Q: Since the Huntsville airport and the local area is expanding rapidly, why can't the local car rental companies keep up with the demand for cars? There have been several conferences where attendees could not rent a car at the airport and had to take a taxi to their hotel.

These are not isolated incidents since it has happened to one person I know three times in the last two years. This occurs even with confirmed reservations. I don't know of any other international airport with car rental issues like this.

The Times (recently) reported a 14 percent increase in passengers. You would think the car rental companies would be able to predict increased traffic, too, in order to keep up with demand.

A: Representatives of two of the five car rental companies serving Huntsville International Airport said the companies can't get all the cars they sometimes need.

All of the companies have rented all of their cars for several weeks in a row and brought cars in from other cities to fill the gap, but that still hasn't helped, said Stephanie Kauppila, an agent with Dollar Rent A Car/Thrifty Car Rental.

Paul Ford, assistant manager for Avis Rent A Car, said the company will get more cars from other cities when there's a large conference in town, but is still limited because of parking space and having enough employees to clean the extra cars.

Avis has about 800 to 900 cars that it pays the airport to park there, he said. It will get up to 1,500 cars some times and has to pay for the extra parking space and extra insurance.

Everything sells out when there's a large conference in town, he said.

"We do the best we can to get all (the cars) we can in here."

Got a question? Submit it to askus@htimes.com or phone it in to 256-536-8255. Include your name, hometown and phone number.

Q: I read in The Huntsville Times a while back that there would be a Dunkin Donuts at the corner of Airport Road and Whitesburg Drive. Are there still plans for one?

A: The article published in May reported that Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, was looking for qualified candidates to help expand both brands in Huntsville and the surrounding areas.

The article didn't announce a new Dunkin Donuts store on Airport Road, but it said, "There are more than 8,800 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and 6,000 Baskin-Robbins shops -- including the (Baskin Robbins) shop at the corner of Whitesburg Drive and Airport Road." -- Marian Accardi

Got a question? Submit it to askus@htimes.com or phone it in to 256-536-8255. Include your name, hometown and phone number.